“But it wasn’t an accident.” Frank laughed again and prodded her with the barrel of the gun to make her move faster. “And it wasn’t Tad either. It was me. I killed Ronni.”

“But why?” Hannah gasped, stumbling a bit as she moved forward. She had to keep him talking, distract him, and figure out some way to escape.

“Tad’s like a son to me. My sister died when he was born and the poor kid never had anyone. Tad’s father always blamed him for my sister’s death. Tad’s older brother got all the attention. The only one who ever cared about Tad was me. I knew Ronni was a bad influence the first time I saw her flirting with Tad.”

Hannah tried to slow her steps, but every time she hesitated, Frank prodded her with the gun again. Her eyes scanned the deserted hallway, hoping for something she could grab, whirl, and use to hit him, but the hallways were perfectly empty. “Did you try to warn Tad off?”

“’Course I did. What kind of fool do you take me for? I told him she was the kind to play games with men and I proved it by showing him the tapes of her in the Jacuzzi with other men.”

There was a broom leaning up against the doorway to the Snack Shack. If she could just get close enough to grab it, she could use it to knock him off balance and…

“Don’t even think about it,” Frank warned her, effectively reading her mind and pushing her over to hug the far wall. “I’ll shoot you here if I have to.”

Hannah told herself there’d be another opportunity. There had to be! And then she went on asking questions. “What did Tad say when you showed him the tapes of Ronni in the Jacuzzi with the other men?”

“He was upset, but he wasn’t mad at Ronni. He said she hadn’t dated the right man yet, but the minute she realized that he was perfect for her, she’d settle right down with him and be happy.”

“Are you serious?” Hannah asked, stopping in her tracks and turning around to look at him.

“Yes, I am.”

“Poor Tad!” Hannah said, and she meant it. But in the meantime, they’d stopped moving forward and were now standing still facing each other. This was good. Hannah knew she had to delay for as long as she could. “He was really that out of touch with reality?”

“Oh, yes. He was delusional when it came to Ronni. Nothing she did was her fault and he wouldn’t listen to the truth.”

“But you tried to tell him what Ronni was really like?”

“I talked until I was blue in the face. Nothing sunk in. It was like she’d put blinders on him and he couldn’t see any of her bad qualities.”